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Special police units and local police forces were alerted by a caller who said several people were lying wounded on the ground at about 8:50 p.m. (1950 GMT), the police statement said.

It said the incident was being investigated and the site had been closed off. More information would be released later today at a news conference in the village, which is close to the town of Sion, the capital of the canton - or region - of Valais.

Mass shootings are rare in Switzerland, although gun possession is widespread - some estimates run to at least one for every three of its 8 million inhabitants. Many are stored in people's attics, a legacy of Switzerland's policy of arming its men to defend its neutrality.

Three people were killed and two wounded late on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire in the Swiss village of Daillon, Swiss police said. When police tried to arrest him, the suspect threatened them, before officers shot and wounded him and took him into custody.

Police of the Swiss canton of Valais said in a statement that no officers were wounded.